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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — farmland
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rash — hasty
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — a series
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rest — a break
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com